Let’s stroll together through the gardens of Matty Groves’ mind as he breaks down his debut album ‘Aurelia’
Matty Groves’ has graced our ears and captured our hearts on killer debut album, ‘Aurelia’.
The blossoming musician from the heart of Naarm/Melbourne evokes the spirit of trailblazers like ‘Nick Drake’, ‘Gary Higgins’, and ‘Linda Perhacs’ in his artistry.
Reminiscent of the golden era of Psychedelic Folk during the 60s and 70s, ‘Aurelia’ is a dreamy 12-track album sure to soothe the soul.
Welcome to Matty Groves’ herb and spice garden, and join him as he breaks down his latest album to show you what he’s got growing…
Cardamon – ‘Overture’
Setting the tone for the album much like the sweet scent of Cardamon the overture welcomes you.
My overture for the album is an epic dynamic Psychedelic/Prog instrumental showing off the lights and shades giving a hint of what’s in store for the rest of the album.
For this opening track I use an array of traditional folk instruments that are juxtaposed by the contemporary folk/rock sound of electric guitar, organ, and the drum kit.
Cinnamon – ‘Rain’
This song is one of my personal favourites of the album hence why I chose my favourite spice Cinnamon.
For this song I experimented with a blend of instruments with sitar and nylon string guitar sitting at the forefront of the mix.
What I really found exciting about making this song was the percussive section, with use of bells, chimes, wood block, a rain stick that I made, and glass bottles filled with water at different levels creating a low frequency pipe flute effect.
The blend of instruments in the middle section of the song is quite therapeutic for me as I feel that I can let my consciousness drift off into the music.
Juniper – ‘La Luna’
‘La Luna’ introduces feature artist Charlotte Rankin taking the vocal spotlight with her delicate yet rich alto register reminiscent of artist such as Bridgett St John and Linda Perhacs.
This whimsical folk ballad explores the story of the tragedy of the moon’s unrequited love for the sun and how she is just out of reach. The song draws a parallel to the singer as she can’t reach the moon.
For me this song evokes the herb Juniper due to its imaginative nature. At the time of recording this song I was teaching music at a school, and I was very lucky to have access to an array of instruments that were in the classroom.
These lessons were one on one so when students didn’t arrive to class, I had a half an hour gap between students to quickly set up my interface and recorded as much as I could.
The main instruments that I recorded in that time was the Marimba, Xylophone and Glockenspiel which you can hear in the final mix of ‘La Luna’.
Oregano – ‘Children of the Wilderness’
‘Children of the Wilderness’ is the anthem of the album.
This song came about whilst in the thick of the covid lockdown in Melbourne. I was living in a share house in Coburg, where I made a DIY home recording studio.
Due to the strict lockdown, I was unable to make music with my band Y STREET, so I used the time to focus on my solo writing.
I was very fortunate to have great housemates that really encouraged creativity and shout out to them for putting up with my constant noise. At this point I already had some rough song ideas, but it wasn’t until I wrote this song that I really decided to write a full solo album.
As a creative share house, we got up to a lot of shenanigans, one of the core memories from this time was when we ordered $150 worth of chips and filled up the bathtub with thousands of chips for my dear friend’s music video ‘Chips’ by ‘Spud’.
For me oregano is an essential chip garnish so I would have to say oregano is the herb that represents ‘Children of the Wilderness’ for me.
Nutmeg – ‘Pilgrim’
Like Nutmeg ‘Pilgrim’ has a rich leathery, brown tasting aroma about it. This song is about running away from the truth.
In life I often find myself romanticising the idea of running away from my problems, but I have come to realize that you can never run away from yourself, the only way to truly deal with your problems is to overcome from within.
Lavender – ‘Dancing Through Space’
‘Dancing Through Space’ explores the concept of the vastness of the universe and although sometimes we can feel small and insignificant, love is something that is bigger than the individual.
I wrote this song whilst on a rainy beach recoil in Lorne, Vic. For me this song has a calming quality.
The purple hazy herb Lavender comes to mind when I listen to this song due to its soothing properties.
I was inspired by the music of Vashti Bunyan especially the flute sound she uses in songs such as ‘Rainbow River’ and ‘Diamond Day’.
Parsley – Ie Ay Ya
Ie Ay Ya is when the trip starts to transcend into a mystical realm and a wizard named ‘Ie Ay Ya’ appears. I relate this song to Parsley.
Sage – Magical Speckled Beans
This song is quite experimental and borders on free jazz inspired by artist such as Alice Coltrane. It also features the commanding saxophone of Alex Flaskas, whose tone adds a complex layer of detail to the mix.
I worked with Alex on several of the songs on this Album such as ‘La Luna’, ‘Ie Ay Ya’, Magical Speckled Beans’, ‘Unwind the Hands of Time’ and ‘Disillusion’.
Alex’s raw talent expresses vast stylistic diversity throughout the album from hard-hitting prog rock screeching to gentle folk and to angular jazz licks.
‘Magical Speckled Beans’ conjures the herb Sage for me as in spiritual contexts it’s synonymous with wisdom and used ritualistically by Native Americans to connect the physical and spiritual realms and that is how I feel about this song as the music transcends me into an altered realm and state of mind.
Rosemary – Unwind the Hands of Time
The subject matter for this number is by far the darkest as it explores the loss of a loved one.
The metaphorical character that is singing the song is pleading to unwind the hands of time so they can cherish the time with there loved one once more, the ghostly vocals of Charlotte are intended to be a call from the grave.
The song draws parallels to the inevitability of death and the change of seasons. It explores the idea that although the seasons of life change.
It is a reminder to cherish the time that we have with our loved ones. Ancient Egyptian traditions have helped me connect this song to Rosemary as the herb was used heavily to farewell and preserve their deceased.
Thyme – Children of the Wilderness reprise
Perhaps the second most used herb by folk musicians… Thyme.
The reprise of ‘Children of the Wilderness’ starts off with stripped back acapella vocals that soon become accompanied by acoustic guitar.
This version of the song features subtle differences from the other recording echoing the album’s anthem.
Cayenne Pepper – Disillusion
Disillusion is the first song that I wrote that featured in this album and in my opinion, it’s the most powerful track on the album.
The song is about accepting people for who they are, being slow to judgement and to not condemn people based on assumptions, which is a message that I think is quite relevant for the current state of the world today.
I feel that I word this notion best in my lyrics… ‘Don’t criticize the victims of your mind, don’t incarcerate them for your crimes. You sit and wonder who’s at blame yet you’re the same.”
‘Disillusion’ becomes very prog-rock, suggestive of artist such as Kevin Ayers and King Crimson. Within the overall arch of the album, ‘Disillusion’ is the climax, much like Cayenne Pepper.
It starts off tame but suddenly you are engulfed by the spice.
Saffron – Emit Fo Sdnah Eht Dniwnu
Inspired by the hurdy gurdy man himself ‘Donovan’ this track would have to be Saffron. Staying true to the mixing techniques of 60s Psych/Folk artists as the use of reverse tracks are synonymous to the genre.
If you play this song backwards you will get a secret message.
My album is ‘Aurelia’ is a part of a larger project, these songs are the highlights for my full scale prog-rock opera stage show that includes narration and added music.
I plan to release the extended soundtrack later this year.
Check out Matty Groves full album here or grab ‘Aurelia’ on vinyl via Bandcamp.
